iTake the Blame
by Kaitley
Summary: Set during iPromise Not to Tell... A story about what would happen if Freddie took the blame for Sam if she got caught changing Carly's grades. My entry to TheWrtrInMe's iCarly 'What if' Story Challenge. Vote at her profile page!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Thanks for taking the time to read this, and without further ado here is the barely-revised, took me 10 hours 2 nights…. iTake the Blame.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly. I own the random characters I make up, but NOT iCarly.**

**FREDDIE**

Freddie Benson sat inside the dull classroom of Mr. Beardstein's, waiting for him to arrive and so bored watching paint dry would be more interesting than this. He mentally ticked off the students in the room, waiting hopefully for someone to talk to him or to find somebody to talk to.

Carly's sick. Where's Sam? Oh yeah... it's time for one of her 'weekly meetings with Ted.' to discuss 'her behavioral issues.' Gibby? NO way.

Man, I wish there was SOMEBODY here to talk to. Why does homeroom have to be so darn boring? Where's Mr. B anyways?

And as if on cue, Mr. Beardstein strode into the classroom. "Good morning students. I hope you're all here today, and if you're not, just tell me!" He started laughing hysterically. Mrs. B. makes a lot of jokes that nobody except him knows about nor cares about... How is that funny anyway? It's not even humanely possible!

Between gasping breaths of laughter, Mr. Beardstein finally was able to stand up and begin roll call. "Josh Adams," he called. "Here!" Josh answered. "Freddie Benson." "I'm here! I answered.

There were a surprising amount of people here today... usually half of them skipped homeroom. Probably so they wouldn't have to hear all of Mr. Beardstein's horrible jokes. (Though Sam likes to point out that MY jokes are worse... But that's just her opinion. Right?)

"Carly Shay," Mrs. B. called out, his voice ringing and echoing between the solid concrete walls. "Carly Shay?" he repeated, this time as more of a question.

I was so lost in thought that it took me a second to remember I had the doctor's note for her."Mr. B?" I asked, raising my hand. "Carly isn't here...- she's sick with a cold and fever- I have the doctor's excuse, though."

"Perfect! Can you take that down to the Principal's office for me then, Freddie? Be sure that you button up your sweater, because it's COLD out there and you don't want to DELIVER the flu to anybody else!" Yeah... not only was Mr. Beardstein lazy, his jokes didn't make sense either. As he started to roll on the ground from laughter, (only to receive the stares of students) I decided to make my exit. "Sure thing Mr. B" I replied, although a bit pointlessly, and with the note in hand, made my way down to Principal Franklin's office.

**SAM**

"Thank you. Now what trouble have you gotten into within the past week?"

Have I mentioned that I absolutely HATE these 'talks'? Same blah blah blah every week. Ted always knows what my answers will be anyways. 'Yes I got in trouble.' What's he going to do about it anyways? It's not like I actually GAIN anything from these 'special sessions' (as Grey likes to call them).

And to make it all even worse, Carly was sick had been texting me all morning. I can always use a distraction from school, but she kept saying how annoyed and sad that she was that she wouldn't get all straight A's this semester. That crazy brit Mr. Devlin gave her a B just because she used lined paper that had 3 holes in it. And apparently, she can't even reprint it! How jank is that?

"Sam?"" he repeated.

"Uhh... let's see. I got yelled at by Mrs. Briggs for failing a quiz." Stupid old bat..

"Why did you fail the quiz?" he pressed.

I decided to tell him the truth. Me lying to Ted usually didn't go over well. "I didn't know the answers."

"Right. Next?" Oh Ted. He knew me too well...

"Uhhh, OH! I got kicked out of the cafeteria for slapping Gibby with a piece of pizza."

At least it was 'Veggie Burger and Spinach" day that day, because I wouldn't have stood for it if it was 'fried chicken and tater tots' day. The lunch freaks DEFINITELY wouldn't like that.

"Uh-huh." He didn't look too happy about it. Rubbing his temples, exasperated, he added, "Why did you slap Gibby with a piece of pizza?"

"I found it on the floor; I wasn't going to eat it! Plus I was trying to snap him out of it! The crazy dude just kept yelling "THE CHICKENS ARE COMING!" Trust me, I was saving a whole bunch of people from the fate of Gibby's randomness," I protested.

Gibby's are such an easy target.

Before he could speak any more, Grey entered. The room. "Principal Franklin, Freddie Benson has a note for you excusing the absence of a certain Carly Shay. And the school's computer is not working correctly so I cannot log in the report card grades. What should I do about it?" she said in a monotone.

"Thank you, Mrs. Grey," Principal Franklin replied. "Tell him to come in here and leave it on my desk. You can log in using my username and password. Come over here, I'll show you." I was playing with his name plaque, but stopped when I noticed Ted talking in a hushed voice.

"My username is BigTeddy, and my password is Corncake21," he said. "Aha! There you go." Hmm… I'll definitely have to remember that.

"And- by the way - can you do anything to get this syrup out of my tie?"

"Yes," she answered in that same monotone. "I took a stain-removing course in college."

Sometimes I seriously wonder if that woman is a robot. She dresses the same every day, talks in the same monotone. It's crazy, I tell you!

"Sam, while I'm gone, stay still and please try not to break anything." Darn. Ted knows me too well.

Hmm... But he didn't mention 'specifics', did he? As my mischievous instincts kicked in, I realized that there was something I could do about Carly's unfair grade after all...

Man, this is easy! Why does Freddie make such a big deal over this? It's too easy. aaaaand... changed. Well, now that I'm in, I might as well have some fun with this...

Let's see... What did Ted says that his password was? ...oh yeah. Corncake21. I could go for some corncakes right now... but aren't corncakes the same thing as cornbread? Or is it an actually CAKE... hmm... Whatever. It doesn't matter. I'm hungry anyway.

"SAM?" I was in the middle of my food-brooding when I heard a familiar voice near the door. "What are you doing on Principal Franklin's-hbbrrmrrf!"

"Freddie!" I hissed, my eyes widening with the fear that somebody had heard us. I covered his mouth with my hand. "SHUT. UP!"

"Sorry!" he whisper-shouted as I quickly released my hand. "But when a guy walks in to see his... enemy... typing on a restricted computer and BREAKING THE LAW, he generally will be surprised and get suspicious! What are you doing, anyway?" Aha. His curiosity had gotten the best of him. I love it when good turns to evil.

"I'm just... changing a few things around on the school website," I said, striding back over to the corner where the desktop sat.

"Like what?" his eyebrows lifted up in either suspicion or curiosity. I was too excited to determine which. He followed me back to the chair and sat down at the desk, fingers poised at the ready. It wasn't even on purpose… it was just a nerdy instinct… he was drawn to computers like I was drawn to various parts of pigs.

"Remember Carly's freaky British teacher who gave her a B on that test the other day?"

"Mr. Devlin?"

"Yeah, that's it. Anyways, the usual computer didn't work for robot lady and so she came in here to put in the grades for the report cards for the semester so Ted showed her his username and password but left the computer up at the exact spot used to change the grades and so I got to change Carly's to the A that she deserved and-" I noticed that Freddie wasn't paying attention to me anymore. "Fr-" I stopped talking when I noticed who was at the doorway; Mrs. Grey.

"Principal Franklin!" she yelled, changing from weird-monotone robot to a loud, piercing, almost-crazed voice. Freddie and I both covered our ears as she yelled, "There are delinquents in your office trying to tarnish the name of Ridgeway Junior High!" Huh. Maybe this woman wasn't a robot after all. Maybe she was a foreign knight. Or a long-lost relative of Mrs. Benson's.

Principal Franklin entered the room, still maintaining a professional stance. "What is going on here?"

Freddie, realizing he was still sitting at the computer desk - in the chair - jumped out of the chair so high it would have been funny if we weren't in serious trouble right now. He clutched Carly's excuse note in his right hand. "Uh-Uhmm.. Here you go sir?" he weakly protested, letting the note flutter out of his hand onto Franklin's desk in the process.

"Freddie," he said sternly, "Please tell me what was going on here."

"Uh, uhm... Wha- Uh... IDIDIT!" he blurted out as I mentally face palmed myself for letting him even talk in the first place. Everyone knows the boy is no good at lying! (Well, at least NOW everyone does.) Freddie, realizing that he now wasn't going to get out of this, took a deep breath and began.

"I was going to deliver the note when I noticed your computer was on and there was something curious near the screen. I sat down and realized that you had a window open; one that was everybody's grades for the semester. Then I remembered that Carly got an unfair grade from one of her teachers so I decided to change it."

I was shocked. This was... Freddie? Being DECEPTIVE and devious? Had HE caught Carly's disease or something?

"Did Sam have anything to do with this?" Principle Franklin questioned uneasily.

"No, she didn't," Freddie replied in a weak yet firm voice.

My jaw almost dropped open. What? Freddie was lying, but more importantly Freddie was lying for ME?

"Sam, do you have anything to say or add to this?"

"N-no," I said, propelled by Freddie elbowing me.

"And Freddie, you realize that you will get a month of suspension for taking the blame?"

I could tell that this was hard to swallow for him. But he still replied,

"Yes, Principal Franklin. I will accept the punishment."

Freddie took the blame… for me.


	2. Chapter 2

Reactions - Next Day Text.

Sam: Guess what?

Carly: Is this about the new bacon-flavored bubblegum?

Sam: No! ...they have that?

Carly: Yeah, but just tell me what you're all whipped up about.

Sam: First you gotta swear you won't tell anybody.

Carly: I swear.

Sam: No, you have to ankle swear.

Carly: How are we supposed to do that over text messaging? :D

Sam: I don't really know... But seriously. Promise you won't tell ANYONE?

Carly: Cross my heart and hope to die.

Sam: Okay. I changed your grade in the school's computer.

Carly: YOU CHANGED MY GRADE? SAM! That's not even LEGAL! Why'd you do it?

Sam: So you'd get the straight A's you deserve! But… I'm confused about something. And you've got to DOUBLE swear on this one.

Carly: What?

Sam: The thing is... nobody knows that I am the one who changed the grades.

Carly: Yeah, I figured as much. And?

Sam: They think Freddie did it.

Carly: Why?

Sam: I was at my 'weekly meeting' with Ted, and Ted left to get syrup out of his tie with robot lady. Freddie came in while I was changing your grade, so I told him and he sat down at the computer (I think it was a nerdy instinct) and then Grey came in and ratted us out. Then Freddie said that he would take 'full responsibility' for what we did.

Carly: Freddie took the blame for you?

Sam: I guess you could say it like that.

Carly: Oh my god! I thought you guys hated each other...

Carly: Sam? Are you there? Sam?

Carly: Hey Freddie?

Freddie: Hi Carly! What's up?

Carly: Nothing much with me... I still have this dang cold.

Freddie: Oh... Are you going to be okay for iCarly tomorrow?

Carly: Yeah, I think I'll be alright. Anything new with you? Anything at all?

Freddie: No... I don't think so.

Carly: Oh... okay. You're sure, right?

Freddie: Yeah, Carly, I'm sure… How much cold medicine have you had again?

The Two 'S's of a Webcast

Right from the start, I could tell this was going to be a bad evening. Carly stood around sniffling and sneezing the whole time, and no amount of makeup could cover up the fact that she looked ill. Sam just... stood there. I think that she may have been confused over the whole 'me taking the blame for her' kind of thing.

As for me, I was banned from using the computer during the length of my suspension, and so I had to ask James from AV club to help me out. Explaining my situation wasn't easy, and let's just say that James isn't the brightest of people.

"James!" I called to him, "Can you hook this usb up to the laptop port and get us logged onto the site?"

"Sure thing Freddie!"

It took him 3 tries, but he did get it right... eventually.

I just hope that this all blew over okay.

"Okay, and in 5...4...3...2..." I said, pointing my camera towards the girls.

"ONE!" James yelled, obviously excited. I had to bite my tongue (literally!) to keep from saying anything. You don't say the one! How hard is it to realize that you don't say the one?

"I'm Carly," Carly said in a hoarse voice that can barely be called a whisper.

"And I'm Sam!" Sam called semi-enthusiastically.

"And this is iCarly." they droned. Usually it sounded exciting and crazy, but this time… it just fell flat.

"So today on iCarly, we're happy to have our friend-" Carly began, but was cut off by Sam overriding her by saying "one of Freddie's fellow tech-geeks!'. I did all I could to stop from slapping myself.

And then of course, James had to cut in. "Yeah, well from what I heard, that 'tech-geek' saved your butt yesterday Sam. You would have been EXPELLED if it wasn't for him!"

Oh god. I could just hear the seddie fans screaming with joy already. I desperately tried to motion him off-camera. Carly was standing there looking like a zombie and Sam wasn't much better; still as a statue.

But I had forgotten that James' both best and worst feature was his pride. He had so much pride he wouldn't stand for anything insulting his name. This was almost a reason why we respected him so much, because he would stand up for what he believed in, but at some points it got unnecessarily excessive. This was sadly one of those times. But he wasn't done yet.

"Now, instead, FREDDIE is the one being suspended. And you're the one to blame. How do you feel about THAT?" James finished.

Instead of responding, Sam motioned to me to end the show (which was much appreciated) and then walked over to the corner and kicked James in the stomach. (Which was just as appreciated?)

But James' outburst and Carly's zombie-like qualities were not the worst to come.

Sam went home after the show and I decided to go back to my house too. James had left (ashamed) after writhing on the ground in pain for a few minutes. Carly said that she was going to bed but we could do whatever we liked.

But as I approached the door of my house, I knew that I had made a huge mistake.

"FREDWARD BENSON!" a frantic and panicked voice yelled out. Oh man… I really hope that she hadn't seen the webcast!

"Hi Mom!" I greeted, though albeit nervously.

"Fredward! I can't believe you got yourself expelled over that Sam girl! I knew she was a troublemaker! You're going to your room right now and NO more iCarly and NO more being around that… gutter girl!" her nose wrinkled up in disgust.

"Mom! SAM IS NOT A GUTTER GIRL!" I protested, horrified.

"Look Fredward, I am only doing what's best for you!"

"No Mom, you're not! How would you know what's best for me when you've been treating me like a dog my entire life?"

"FREDWARD!" she spoke, aghast. "Go to your room now!"

"Fine!" I shouted back. I guess that's where I'm going to be spending a lot of my time, anyways.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Sam did something entirely unexpected.

I was lying on my bed at 6:30 in the morning when I heard a soft knock at the window. My internal clock was the same, even though I had been suspended. I looked over too see the last person that I wanted to see at the moment. Sam.

I opened the window: what else was I supposed to do? Just let her freeze?

"Hey," she whispered.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered back. "C'mon, let's go out to the fire escape."

"What are we going to do about iCarly? Now that everyone knows about our… problem." She asked quietly, sitting upside-down on one of the camp chairs we'd brought over. This was the elephant in the room, and I'm surprised she brought it up at all.

"Uhh… I guess we're going to have to put it on hold for a few months." I replied honestly. "How else are we going to make this all work? Obviously, assistants or an intern won't work. Plus now all the crazy moms are saying how we're such a 'bad example.'"

"That's true... But-it's not like this is going to be forever, either."

"That's true."

"Hey Freddie?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"I- I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Wow. Sam Puckett, of all people, was apologizing to me?

"No… it's really not. Why did you take the blame? You have so much going for you… why didn't you just let me take the blame? It wasn't even your fault at all and now I feel like I ruined your whole life and-"

"Sam!" She blushed, as I had caught her rambling. "It's okay. Really. I took blame for you because… well, I saw something on the screen."

"What?"

"Well... I was looking at the page that Principal Franklin had left open, and there I saw everyone's grades. I was browsing around a bit as you talked and came across a section of the page where it noted how many demerits and detentions people had, arranging name by most to least number. Yours was at the top... But anyways, according to that page, you can only have 10 detentions a month before you are expelled from the school forever. You had 9." I finished, taking a deep breath.

"And… you did this for me?" she questioned, her eyes growing wide.

"You skipped school to talk to me," I reminded.

"Yeah… but that's not the same." Sam countered.

"No… it was really nice."

"Freddie?" She sat up and turned to face me.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"You're welcome Princess Puckett," I replied with a wink.

_And in 5…4…3….2!_

"_I'm Sam!"_

"_And I'm Carly!"_

"_And this is iCarly!"_

"_The first one in months!" Sam responded enthusiastically to the camera._

"_That's right you guys, Freddie is out of detention." Carly said as Sam pushed the applause button on her camera._

"_Now he knows not to mess with me ever again." Sam joked._

"_Oh Sam," Carly rolled her eyes. "But in fact, before we start, there's something that Sam and Freddie need to tell you, right guys?"_

"_Uhhh…." I (intelligently) responded as Carly walked over and took the camera from me and pushed me so I was on-camera next to Sam._

"_W-well, Sam and I…"_

"_We're dating." Sam finished._

"_Sam!" Carly scolded._

"_What? Did you expect me to make an event out of it?"_

_Carly sighed. "No… I guess not."_

_When I took back the camera and looked at the comments, most of them said "KISS!"_

_So we did._

_And in the end, even though I didn't get into N.E.R.D. camp, I still am glad that everything happened._

_Yeah, I said it. I'm glad I took the blame. Because Sam is worth more than me having a small blemish on my school record._

_And let's face it: getting detention gave me some street cred._

"_NO IT DIDN'T!" Sam yelled from behind me._

_Well, I try._

**And that's the end. I hope that you guys enjoyed, and I'm seriously considering expanding this into a multi chapter where Sam gets suspended along with Freddie and they do x together while they aren't in school. Go to TheWrtrInMe's profile page and vote if you think this story was good enough. (though I sort of doubt it because this took me 2 days to write; that's what I get for not checking my email! Haha) The voting ends on Sunday…. So go go go! **

**(and while you're at it, read her stories. I HIGHLY recommend the Full Circle trilogy she co-authored with Dwyn Arthur.)**


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